Your Story

When this website was first conceived, the authors believed that “Your Story” would be a crucial component of the site, offering space and compassion to those who were hurting or confused. But over the past two weeks, as the stories of those who have left and those who have stayed have been posted, we have come to a different conclusion. While we maintain our original assertion that everyone’s story matters, we have come to realize that the internet may not the best place to form a community of people who may need to heal.

Furthermore, some wise and well-meaning friends, including friends who disagree with the very nature of the website, have helpfully point out the simple fact that we do not personally know each and every person commenting on the site. As a result, we may be giving a platform to people who are not committed to speaking the whole truth.

While we may not necessarily agree with this critique, and while we may believe that it too easily dismisses the often-painful concerns of people who are genuinely trying to help, we do not want to undercut the credibility of the argument we have advanced by allowing for the conversation to be sidetracked through a comment section.

Therefore, as of today, we are pulling all comments from the “Your Story” tab. In the future, this tab will be reserved for any pastors, elders, or significant ministry partners that would like to publicly validate the concerns that have been raised by this site. If you are such an individual, please feel free to post your story with your full name and dates of service; and we will approve it for publication.

Finally, we return to our original assertion. We truly believe that your story matters. So to those of you who were considerate and brave enough to share a piece of your journey, we thank you for your willingness to lead others by speaking truth. Moreover, we pray that you would continue to speak, bringing your much-needed voice to the conversation that is occurring both within the walls of Harvest and outside of them. As for those who are struggling and hurting, we thank you for your transparency; and we pray that God would bring healing to you even as you courageously continue to seek a community of believers that can help you personally walk through the often arduous process of healing and forgiveness.

Your brothers in Christ,

Scott Bryant and Ryan Mahoney

5 Responses to Your Story

theelephantsdebt says:

February 11, 2013 at 5:31 pm

Mike Mahoney, former Elder-Assistant and Biblical Soul Care Counselor (2008-2010).

Editor’s Note: On 11 February 2013, Mike Mahoney submitted the following statement to The Elephant’s Debt. We have published his statement here by his personal request. He is also the father of one of the author’s of this blog, Ryan Mahoney.

I have been at Harvest Bible Chapel since 1989. From the earliest days of HBC, my wife and I loved and benefited from the teaching ministry of James MacDonald. During those early years, we became friends with the MacDonald family. In fact, when Heather and I struggled in our marriage, James was instrumental in counseling us and helping us to save our marriage.

In the mid-1990s, we began a lay marriage counseling ministry through the church. We faithfully ministered to hundreds of hurting couples; and thankfully were used by the Lord as a tool in reconciling many of these marriages. During this season, I was also asked and did in fact serve as Elder Assistant, charged with ministering to and praying on behalf of the congregation.

In 2008, I was personally invited by James MacDonald to join the church staff. I served as the Director of Marriage Ministries under Rick Donald. After my first year on staff I transitioned to a counseling position in the Biblical Soul Care Ministry. During my time on staff, I became aware of several concerning issues regarding the character of James MacDonald. I kept this largely to myself in the hopes that the elders and the Holy Spirit might work upon my Pastor. Earlier this year, it became clear that my hopes were ill-founded.

James MacDonald sent an emissary, who approached me on my day off with a message. This individual made it clear that James wanted me to come and meet with him in his office to assure him of my loyalty. I was given three weeks to comply or I would lose my job. This conversation came on the heels of other passive-aggressive inquires about my loyalty through other emissaries sent by James. Given the decline in James’ character and the manner in which I was being treated as an employee, it seemed wiser for me to resign than to confront James MacDonald over these issues. Over the years, I had seen many good men and women confront James, only to walk away from the confrontation deeply wounded. Rather than experiencing this myself, it seemed safer just to leave on my own terms.

Unwilling to accept my resignation, my boss Garrett Higbee asked me to attend a meeting with him and Rick Donald. The purpose of this meeting was to inquire about my resignation; and at that time, I made my reasons clear. I said in no uncertain terms that it was the declining character of James MacDonald that had lead me to make this decision. Not surprisingly, they attempted to defend James, but were left answerless when I confronted them over more recent incidents. This lead to a follow up meeting with James himself.

At this meeting, I finally confronted James with all of my concerns. In response he became very angry and yelled throughout much of the meeting. Also, as he is known to do, he twisted the entire meeting to focus not upon his issues, but upon my emotional response to them. Somehow, I left that meeting thinking that I was the one with the problem. Because of this, I foolishly agreed to stay on staff.

At a latter meeting with Rick Donald I was informed that I had to submit to counseling with my boss. At the conclusion of these counseling sessions I was to meet with James again to tell him all that I had learned from this counseling. I quickly came to realize that James had not answered any of my concerns, and their request for me to enter counseling was absurd. It was at that point that I resigned.

Looking back on it now, I realize that my story is not that different from many others that I have heard over the years. When you are on staff at Harvest, there is a culture that encourages you to remain silent. It is a culture of fear. Today, I want to stand with the other men who have publicly spoken on these issues. I initially requested on 9 November, 2012, that my name be added to the Void as a statement of solidarity with the other members of the Void and to confirm the validity of this website’s concerns. However, that statement is not enough.

In a move to protect the Church, and those staff members who are still experiencing the emotional turmoil that I and so many others once experienced, I stand now to say that the problem is not necessarily with you. The core problem at Harvest is the character of James MacDonald, a pastor I once respected.

Reply
theelephantsdebt says:

February 7, 2013 at 11:51 am

Josh Caterer, former Worship Leader at Harvest Bible Chapel (2001-2010)

Editor’s Note: On 6 February 2013, Josh Caterer submitted the following statement to The Elephant’s Debt. We have published his statement here by his personal request.

My Response to 2 Frequently Asked Questions:

1) Why don’t I have my name removed from the Elephant’s Debt website?

People have been asking me about this ever since the website came out. Would I consider having my name removed from “The Void” list? My answer is that I WOULD be willing to have it removed if I knew that any of the information on the site was wrong. But I haven’t seen anything on the site which I know to be false. On the contrary, I can personally verify some of it. The rest of it is not only supported by ample documentation, but also seems to be, as Mike Bryant put it, “consistent with the declining character” of James MacDonald, which I observed during my later years on staff at Harvest.
Some have suggested that the site’s approach is unbiblical because, according to Matthew 18, they should have tried to work things out with James privately first. But the passage in Matthew 18 deals with personal offences, so I don’t think it applies to this situation. Verse 15 says, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.” But what if your brother sins against a congregation of thousands of people? Don’t those people deserve to know about it? I think they do, and in that sense, the Elephant’s Debt site has served a valuable purpose.

2) Am I one of the people who has supposedly “reconciled” with James MacDonald?

This question has been coming up a lot lately. James has been talking about his efforts to “reconcile” with some of the people who have left Harvest, and some people seem to have gotten the impression that he and I have patched things up and everything is cool between us. So I’d like to be clear about this: I have not reconciled with James MacDonald. I don’t think personal reconciliation has anything to do with it. I saw James face to face a couple of months ago. I gave him a hug. We sat down and talked for a few minutes. He asked me directly if there was anything having to do with our personal relationship that I was holding against him. I was hard-pressed to think of anything of that nature. The issues that I have with James, my doubts about his integrity and my concerns about his qualifications as an elder, are not the result of a rift in our relationship and cannot be reduced to the level of personal offences. The real issues are much larger than that. I think the Elephant’s Debt website has done a good job of bringing some of those issues to light. These are things that must be addressed by the leadership of Harvest honestly, thoroughly and with true repentance. It doesn’t seem like that has happened yet, but I believe that it’s possible and that, with God’s help, Harvest can get past these distractions and get back to being the strong, God-honoring church I remember it to be.
Josh Caterer

Reply
Mike Bryant, former staff member at HBC-RM, former Pastor of Worship at HBC-CL, former Senior Pastor planted by HBF Fellowship (1998-2012) says:

October 31, 2012 at 12:14 pm

October 30, 2012

Near the end of 1988, I began attending Harvest Bible Chapel and was a member of 3 different Harvests over the following 23 years. From 1997-2001, I was on staff at HBC Rolling Meadows serving in Worship Ministry, Young Adult Ministry and Student Ministry. During all that time, I came to know James MacDonald very well both publicly and privately, professionally and personally. He was my pastor, employer, mentor and co-laborer.

I have read the case brought forth in this website (www.theelephantsdebt.com). It stands for itself as well-reasoned and well-supported. Scott and Ryan (men whom I have also known for many years) have done well in articulating very grievous information in a way that presents factual evidence regarding James MacDonald and the leadership surrounding him. Such evidence and testimonial support is always necessary when bringing a public charge against a pastor or an elder who continues in sin (1 Timothy 5:19-21).

From my experience, I can personally validate some of the information and incidents included in this website as an eyewitness. There are also some matters mentioned here that I did not have personal exposure to. However, in my opinion, those matters are all consistent with the declining character of the man that I observed over many years.

I love James MacDonald. We have shared many good memories together (though admittedly most of those were in the early years). I also love him enough and have been committed to his best so as to speak truth to him privately when necessary. My public testimony here is still consistent with that desire for his best. But additionally and equally important, I add my name as a witness to the things in this website for the protection of those that I once led and shepherded at Harvest.

I am in firm agreement with the 6 statements listed in “The Hope” section of this website. I pray that the Lord grants James repentance, and also to those leaders who knowingly support this behavior. May the blessing, refreshing and joy in Christ that accompanies true repentance be theirs in abundance.

Mike Bryant

Reply
Daryl Rice, former Elder and Executive Pastor of Business and Operations (2001-2006) says:

October 25, 2012 at 8:20 am

Editor’s Note: On 23 October 2012, Daryl Rice contacted The Elephant’s Debt via telephone. During his conversation with Ryan Mahoney, he asked to have his name added to “The Void” and sent out as an “Update.” The next day, he sent the following email, which contained a brief biography as well as a brief prayer.

During my tenure at Harvest , I was the Executive Pastor of Business & Operations. I was at Harvest from 2001 to 2006. I managed the business operations of the Church and reported directly to James [MacDonald]. I served as an Elder and lead the Deacon Team. I am currently the Executive Pastor of Business & Operations at Oak Pointe Church in Novi, MI and an Elder of the Church.

Praying for you both. Mostly, my wife and I are praying for the work of the Kingdom and that people would not be turned off by the church issues and leadership – but look to Christ for wisdom and discernment in these matters.

Reply
Jeff and Debbie Richardson, former Flock Leaders (1997-2006) says:

October 24, 2012 at 9:37 am

Editor’s Note: On 19 October 2012, Jeff and Debbie Richardson forwarded a detailed account of their attempts to address concerns with the elders of HBC and James MacDonald himself. Due to the length of their narrative, we have uploaded it as a PDF document. Furthermore, we have also uploaded correspondence that they sent to Harvest as they sought to deal with these issues.

Please click on this link to take you to the Richardson Letter.

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Your Story

5 Responses to Your Story